Lunar Living: Decorating with the Moon and the Fourth House
How would you like to be living in your dream home right now? By utilizing the qualities of your natal astrological moon, fourth house cusp, and related planets, you can create and envision a home that fulfills your deepest needs and instincts.
In the astrological landscape, the moon and the fourth house in the astrological chart represent the area of life related to our roots and our own personal “tree of life”. This is the place of ancestors, family and home. Here lives our nurturing (or not so nurturing) parent, our inner life, and our need for comfort and respite. The midnight point of the chart, it is hidden, underground and connected to others in our family through shared emotional dynamics and influences. Navigating this oceanic, lunar terrain can be an exercise in relating to the dark, as we encounter our own depths. Your Moon sign can also give insights into your astrological compatibility and how your Moon in Libra gets along with Moon in Gemini.
The fourth house territory and the sign of the moon also show how we can translate this deep soul work into the physical realm and use tangible processes to see the manifestation of our inner work. As we create a literal, concrete home for ourselves we began to understand more about who we are in this lunar landscape, using the information from our charts to guide us. Because this arena also reveals clues about our security and safety issues, creating a physical home based on the energetic indications here help to heal and support our lunar selves.
The fourth house and moon sign and placement can indicate our preferred “spirit” or resonance in how we make our homes, hence it can tell us what kind of “homemaker” we are, or would be if we lived more in accordance with our true nature.
Using the sign and house of the astrological moon to gather clues about how we might best design, furnish and arrange our living spaces is a practical way to draw on the wisdom of astrology and witness its benefits in our daily lives.
You will notice as you look at your chart and the charts of friends, family members and clients that it is uncommon to find a pure manifestation of one type of sign or planetary energy in this home territory. Often you will notice a blending of several threads, creating a unique tapestry.
An example of an Aquarius with Cancer and a small measure of Virgo might be: lives in a collective house, but with a cozy room complete with a small kitchen/living room area where she serves tea to visitors, and grows herbs in a window box garden which she uses to season the big raw foods dinners she cooks for her ten housemates.
Use your imagination to create the ideal dream house for a variety of sign and planetary combinations. For those of you who have a mental file of friends and loved ones charts, notice how in alignment these people are in decorating style with their planet/sign placements in the fourth.
As you read through the descriptions of the moon signs, fourth house cusp placements, and their suggestions for homemaking tips, imagine how different combinations of moon signs, fourth house cusps and planets in the fourth might manifest.
Sometimes we may find ourselves in living arrangements that don’t suit our fourth house/moon nature due to relationships with partners or other outside influences. Imagine what you might do to make your home more comfortable if you find it is not as representative of your lunar territory as you would like.
Perhaps your moon is in Gemini conjunct Mercury in the 10th house, with your 4th house cusp in Sagittarius and Uranus in the 4th. Yet your home is a shrine to Laura Ashley, you rarely have any visitors and you find yourself cooking meat and potatoes three nights a week for dinner. This is all due to your Venus in Taurusas well as that husband of yours with his Moon in Cancer. So before you ask for a divorce, see what you can do to try and redecorate and make your home more of a haven for your own lunar needs.
Use these Moon/Fourth House Associations as a launch pad to help you creatively blend the dominant influences in your own chart-
Moon or IC in Aries-
Cardinal Fire
Bright, active colors. Movement, adventure, freedom and selfhood should shape your décor. This could be a framed photo of you climbing Mt. Hood, or an interesting tree house in the back yard. Aries in the home demands the right to be oneself, this self may constantly change, so the ideal home has the space to allow rapid change to occur.
Moon or IC in Taurus-
Fixed Earth
Your home must have a garden, or at least a green space nearby to cultivate. It’s important that you feel comfortable and relaxed in your living space. Too much noise, activity and motion will make you cranky and stubborn, so try and create an environment that is soothing, beautiful and nurturing to your senses. You appreciate music in your home, so make sure you have the space to sing or play your instruments.
Moon or IC in Gemini-
If you have internet and phone access, you can be at home almost anywhere. Environments where you have no one to talk to and no news of the outside world will feel stifling and oppressive. Use words in your decorating efforts. Framing poems or quotes, and using language to make a visual statement will help you to feel at home. Bookcases or room to store your books and papers is a necessity.
Moon or IC in Cancer-
Your ideal home would have plenty of storage space, as you likely have many things that hold special memories and meaning. You need an environment where you can be alone when necessary, but where there is plenty of life to take care of. Plants, people or animals, if you don’t have something growing in your home, you’re likely to feel unfulfilled. Your environment needs to have representations of those you love, and places to display representations of your memories.
Moon or IC in Leo-
It’s important that you have a way to feel like a Queen or King in your home. Even if your throne is in the bathroom, make it a special one. Your décor should conform to whatever your idea ofluxurious is. Decorate as if your home was a showcase or the stage set upon which you play out your life. A playful, childlike quality is supportive for you in your environment, whether this be an art studio, toys or just entertaining furniture.
Moon or IC in Virgo-
Contrary to popular belief, not every Moon in Virgo has a clean house. The important thing for this placement is that there is some sense of order, that items in the house have a function as well as a form. You will enjoy details and mystery in your décor, a sense of things hidden, but practical. Moon in Virgo, like all the earth sign moons is supported by nature, whether this be an actual garden, or lots of potted plants.
Moon or IC in Libra-
Libra lunar energy thrives on a harmonious color scheme, and furniture that is tasteful and appropriate for the environment of the home. There must be a good space to socialize and have parties and events, and plenty of access to fresh flowers and soothing music. This moon and IC placementrarely do well in extreme home environments, rather they appreciate aplace of balance and calm.
Moon or IC in Scorpio-
Privacy or something like it is essential with this placement. If you can create some kind of space where you can retreat whenever you need to go deep, you will support your Scorpio lunar self. Having a water element like a fountain, pond or waterfall is supportive of your emotional realm. Safety and security are also important factors, so ensure that all your locks are in working order, that you have adequate fencing, an alarm system or a guard dog.
Moon or IC in Sagittarius-
Your home needs ample space for books and reading material. Room for your climbing gear, scuba diving equipment and other adventure tools is also necessary. If you feel like you have to be to neat, you will feel cramped. Create an environment that you can feel free and expansive in. You may enjoy having many guests, so try and create a guest room or space for people to come and visit.
Moon or IC in Capricorn-
It is important that you feel safe and secure in your home. You may not need to go so far as to build a moat, but having some kind of boundary defining your space as separate from the outside world will feel supportive to you. It is also good for you to surround yourself with furnishings that are solid and made with care. You will want to have a sense of “quality” in your home, so try and pick contractors and other people you hire to work on your home who share this same value.
Moon or IC in Aquarius-
Even if you decide not to live in a collective environment, it is important that your home be a place where your friends can meet and gather. You will thrive on having space and room in your home to express yourself freely. To much clutter or furnishings will make you feel cramped and overwhelmed. You will need a space in your home that is just yours where you can vision and dream, and be free of distractions.
Moon or IC in Pisces-
Your environment needs to provide you with surroundings that support your need to retreat, pray, build altars, dream and meditate. A home that allows you to express your creativity and imagination will help you feel renewed and safe. Living near the ocean or a river or stream is soothing for you as well. Having plants and animals in your living space will also support your serenity and emotional well-being.
